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‘Raees’ banned in Pakistan for portraying Muslims in bad light

Pakistani fans of Shah Rukh Khan and Mahira Khan were left disappointed
after the country’s censor board banned screening of ‘Raees’. Reportedly, the
screening was stopped as the movie portrays Muslims in a bad light.

‘Raees’ was supposed to hit screens in on February 5, but
the Central Board of Film Censors, Pakistan, deemed it inappropriate for
screening because its content undermines Islam and a specific religious sect.
It also portrays Muslims as criminals, wanted men and gangsters. Shah Rukh, who
is also a co-producer of the film, plays a Muslim gangster in the film named
Raees Alam.

He claimed that people across all communities are loving the
film, as indicated by its box office collection both in India and overseas,
including in Muslim-dominated countries like the UAE, Oman and Bahrain. "I
think this ban will lead to rampant piracy since people across the border will
definitely watch it," Mid-day quoted Rahul as saying.

In December last year after the trailer of the film was
released, certain sections of the Shia community in India had also objected to
a sequence in the trailer. There was a chase scene in which Shah Rukh’s
character was seen jumping over a Muharram procession carrying alam mubarak
(religious flag), which according to Shia theology is considered as disrespect.
The issue was, however, resolved mutually and did not become a hurdle in its
release.

After Pakistan lifted the two-month long ban on import of Bollywood
films, Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Kaabil’ was screened on February 3 and it has fared
well. But the banned ‘Raees’ on Sunday, a day before its scgeduled screening in
the country.